Console Purist Chronicles - The World of CD-i Forum

Chronicle #33: Les Schtroumpfs - Le téléportaschtroumpf

omegalfa — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 18:47:35 +0000

The World of CD-i Chronicles #33 Les Schtroumpfs - Le téléportaschtroumpf A few days after we received the covers of Les Schtroumpfs – Le Téléportaschtroumpf from Testsuoshima, we received from Seven7 with the help of Blazers a copy of the game. The perfect opportunity to review it. Of course, most of you know them as "The Smurfs" (USA), or "De Smurfen" (The Netherlands). SOME FACTS: In 1995, Infogrames got the rights to publish games from famous strip cartoons and some has been ported to CD-i. It happens with Asterix® – Caesar’s Challenge and Les Schtroumpfs – Le Téléportaschtroumpf. With the limitations of the CD-i, Infogrames had to make a different version for the system for both games... a board game like with mini-games. EXTRA FACT: Do you know how the name Schtroumpfs appears...? One night, during the family diner, Peyo (from Belgium), the creator of the schtroumpfs, asked his wife for the table salt... but he forgot the name of it... he stands with the harm forward... still trying to remember the name... and this is when he said: "Passe moi le Schtroumpf!" as it was the same as if you say "Give me the thing". That is how he start drawing those little blue gnomes, now known all over the world. Peyo passed away in 1992. THE GAME: This is a kid's game, but if you are a Smurf lover, then this game is for you. This game has been published by Infogrames, so, no Philips Media logo at the beginning. The game starts with a Full Screen animation. this is when you discover the story and what you will have to do. Smurfette has been kidnapped by Gargamel the wizard, in his mind, he wants to attract all the smurfs into his house to free Smurfette, and this way catch them all! That's a bad boy... bad boy Gargamel! But some smurfs saw Smurfette by the window and listen to his plan. They came back to the Smurfs village and explained everything to Papa Smurf. You will then reach the main screen. Click any button to get into the menu. Once on the menu screen you will get several options: Règles (rules), Introduction (intro), Schtroumpf (Smurf), Jouer (play), Parents (parents), Quitter (exit). Choose Règles to listen to the rules. Choose Introduction to to re-watch the game's intro. Choose Schtroumpf to play only the mini-games you want for training. I have edited the forest map to get a general view of it. You can now watch all the stops for each mini-games. Choose Jouer to start a new game. We will see it later (after all the other options). Now let's look at this Parents option... This is a really cool feature. Just like it says, this is for the parents. I think all Kids games should have this option. This is where you (as parent) access to define how long your kids will play (1/2 hour, 1 hour, 1 hour and 1/2, 2 hours) and how many pauses they will have to do (none, 1, 2, 3 or 4 every 1/2 hour). Also, you can define the reason of the stop after the defined time play is reached. You can choose between 9 options: - Finish your homework. - Have your launch. - Take your bath. - Go to bed! - It's enough for now. - Let's play other things. - Rest your eyes. - Go help Dad. - Go help Mom. To reach this option, you will have to keep pressing D-pad to the right for 4 seconds. If you just click to access it, nothing will happen. And finally, the last option. Leave the game clicking on Quitter. So let's play now by clicking on Jouer! Papa Smurf needs you to find several ingredients so he can create a Téléportaschtroumpf... What is a this? It is a device that will bring Smurfette back to the village without the need to reach Gargamel's house. Basically it's a teleportation device... Smurf version! You can play this game up to 4 players alternatively. Move the D-pad to the right or left to increase or decrease the number or players. Then choose between 6 Smurfs moving the D-pad to right or left: - Handy Smurf - Poet Smurf - Jokey Smurf - Hefty Smurf - Grouchy Smurf - Greedy Smurf Choose also the difficulty level between Easy, Medium and Hard. You can define a different difficulty level for each player. The game runs like a strip cartoons. You control your Smurf character. He can walk to the left or to the right all along the strip and it starts at the Papa Smurf's house. You can run by keeping pressed for 5 seconds D-pad left or right. Right when the games starts Papa Smurf will tell you which are the ingredients and how many of them. The less players... the more ingredients are needed, and the more players... the less ingredients are needed. To get the ingredients, you will have to play as many Mini-Games as you can, each time you win, you will receive ingredients. To play a Mini-Game, just stop your Smurf in front of a place and press button 1, the game will start and Papa Smurf will tell you what to do. Here are the different Mini-Games you will find in this journey, 16 in total: 1. Reproduce the same sequence of sounds 2. Blow all the candles, before they light on again! 3. Remember the colors and paint again. 4. Finish the picture. 5. Find the right proverb. 6. Find Brainy Smurf. 7. Remember the picture... and one in the black, listen to the noise of a thing and click where it should be. (Very hard) 8. Transform the Black Smurf. 9. Find the non trapped gifts. 10. Avoid the eagles (in the air). 11. Avoid the obstacles (on the floor). 12. Jump the bridge. 13. Avoid Dragon Fire. 14. Jump on the turtles back to reach the other side of the river. 15. Choose the correct way! (very fast) 16. Master Mind's like game Gargamel has hidden several traps in the forest. If you fall on some of them, different things can happen: - Be trapped and lose your turn. - Be dropped at another place of the map. - Return to the village. - Fall asleep with the magic horn. To avoid the traps, you can jump over the hidden holes or avoid access hidden traps (jails). CONCLUSION: The game is pretty cool, but you will easily get bored as it is very repetitive. This is really a kids title. It deserve to be tested, but to really enjoy the game must be true Smurf Lover or as people says a "Smurf Fanboy". You are completely immersed into the Smurf ambiance. Other information: – 4 players (Alternatively). – Digital Video Cartridge not required. – Gamepad recommended. CD-i Emulator Compatibility: Not tested yet. Good Points: – 4 players. – True Smurf ambiance immersion. – Very good graphics. Bad Points: – Only for French people. – Easily boring.

EVALUATION: Graphics 9/10 Music 7/10 Gameplay 9/10 TOTAL 8/10

Find all the Chronicles at www.theworldofcdi.com Contact: omegalfa@theworldofcdi.com Twitter: @omegalfapt Facebook: Support Group Written by omegalfa, © 16/10/2020

Chronicle #31: Marlboro - Follow Your Dreams

omegalfa — Fri, 23 Oct 2020 00:41:03 +0000

Chronicle #31 - Marlboro - Follow Your Dreams Here is something we really don't use to see a lot, Marlboro - Follow Your Dreams. This is a free promotional disc from Philip Morris, the owner of Marlboro brand. The objective was to promote the Marlboro Adventure Team that used in the 90's to make sports adventures events all around the world. Motorbike, jeep and rafting was the main sports all combined into an unique competition where the American cowboy lifestyle was also very improved. During 10 days teams from all around the world raced to be the best. This promotional disc is a German release from Philip Morris GmbH back in 1993, one year after the official 1st Marlboro event. This is a CD-i Ready disc, that means it will work in a CD-i player and an Audio CD player (music only). Here are the music just for you! Keep listening the music while reading the review. ;) Remember, you can download the MP3 music by clicking on the right mouse's button and choosing "Save as...". Regarding the CD-i part, the most important for us, there is a little game on it, and this is what I am going to talk about! Marlboro - Follow Your Dreams - The Game Review

The disc start directly to this view, no intro and also no music. Only a motor noise in background. At first time I thought it was a disc problem but I am using the original sent by mail by Blurb69 just to make this review. We don't play with reviews, we take them very seriously! ;)

Remember, this is a German title, I will try my best! At the top left you can see a table with 4x4 squares and a timer indicating 2 minutes. Next to it there is a little video screen where parts of the Marlboro movie is continuously playing. The last item is a window is all in German, indicating different thing along the gameplay. You only can move the cursor (red cross) through the bottom picture. On this image there is 3 still pictures, a jeep, a motorbike and a river rafting boat. If you move to the upper frame the cursor will return automatically to the 1st jeep. This is the map. You start at A1 Press button 1 in any part of the screen and the game will start. This map is now appearing, this is when you understand the reason of the 4x4 table on the top of the screen. They are in the gameplay indicated as A1 to A4 (bottom left to bottom right), B1 to B4, C1 to C4 and D1 to D4 in the upper row. This table will indicates you where you are in the map while playing. You start at A1, look at the Red dots, they are check points. 4 in total. The Finish line is at D4, this Red dot is a little bigger. Here you can see the check point at A2 You can finish the game going directly to the finish line, the game will not recognize that you didn't pass through the check points, but at the end your points will be lower. Points are calculated by the distance run and the check points. Each check point gives you 500 extra points. You only have 2 minutes to reach the Finish line and all the check points. Your vehicle starts as a jeep but in the screen it is just a little Rec cross. This is a top view, still picture where only the cross moves. You don't need to press any button to accelerate or break. Just move the cursor to the side you want to go. Look at the rocks and the difference floor. Some difficulties have been added to the cursor movements. 1st as you are running on sand, while moving your vehicle, you will feel you are almost sliding on ice, the car take some time to turn and stop, you will need to control the directional pad to go exactly were you want to go. Also, rocks will stop you and different kind of floor will slowdown your speed. As explained earlier, you will use different vehicle depending on where you are running. You can see here some examples: There is also the possibility to be transported by helicopter if your car fall in deep water. In this case a VHF radio appears on the screen. Just touch it and you will go directly from this place to the "H" of helicopter landing site. All along the game, no music, only this annoying motor noise that change of intensity depending on the your speed. After you reach the Finish point, the game is over and you will know your points. Incredibly, after that, you will play again in the exactly same map. No mater if you reach all the check points... always the same Marlboro Adventure! Overall, this is good idea for a company that do not use to enter into this kind of things. - The game miss music, the motor noise is really annoying right from the beginning, especially because there is absolutely nothing else in background... - A gamepad is definitely needed and for this kind of vehicle control, a roller controller isn't a bad idea. - To bad you can't play different maps, and having a little vehicle instead of a Red cross cursor would also be better. - The concept is good for a 1993 title and for a free title! Other information: – 1 player. – Digital Video Cartridge not required. – Gamepad recommended. CD-i Emulator Compatibility: Not tested yet. Good Points: – Great music. – Full Motion Action Replays. Bad Points: – No visualization of vehicles. – Hard vehicle control. – Annoying motor sound.

EVALUATION: Graphics 5/10 Music 5/10 Gameplay 4/10 TOTAL 4,6/10

Find all the Chronicles at www.theworldofcdi.com Contact: omegalfa@theworldofcdi.com Twitter: @omegalfapt Facebook: Support Group Written by omegalfa, © 23/10/2020

Chronicle #30: NFL - Instant Replay - 2 Player Head-to-Head game

omegalfa — Sat, 17 Oct 2020 16:42:23 +0000

The World of CD-i Chronicles #30 NFL - Instant Replay I am going to review a game not well-known by many of you, especially if you are from Europe called NFL – Instant Replay. I want to thank you Seven7 (our website member) for sending me a copy of this title. NFL means National Football League, but you might know in other-seas, football is in fact American Football... our football, in Europe, is Soccer in USA... Are you still with me...? I am not a big fan of NFL, to be true, I only knew what is a Touchdown... but after playing this game, believe me, I know much better this fighting game... I mean... this sport game...! ;) SOME HISTORY: Produced by CapDisc and published by Philips Media of America (PIMA) in 1995, this is game is licensed by NFL, one of the most famous sports in the USA. CapDisc is also responsible for games like Mad Dog McCree™ and many other games available on CD-i. SOME FACTS: This NFL title isn't the only one available on CD-i, you also can find NFL – Hall of Fame Football, NFL – Football Trivia Challenge 93/94, NFL – Football Trivia Challenge 94/95 and also a special box called NFL – The Ultimate Football Collection – Triple Pack. THE GAME: I have tried many titles along my CD-i life, but I never played any of the NFL ones, for the main reason I am not a fan of this sport. I have to say I am absolutely astonished by this one, especially for the kind of gameplay. We are talking about a game that you are the referee and have to decide what is the call of more than 300 actions. After a cool little video intro, you will see this game logo. Right after that, a referee will talk in a Full Motion Video (FMV) to you explaining the reason of being a referee and the difficulties of having the right answer for the right action in a few seconds... The main menu is the cloakroom, this following image made me remember Mad Dog McCree™ main menu style with moving icons when clicking on it. This game is a 2 player game, Head-to-Head, that means you can play alone or simultaneously with a friend. Choose the jersey with number 1 for one player only, or the number 2 for Head-to-Head mode game. The other options are the First Help box to listen the rules and the shower to exit the game. To start a new game, choose the number of players and then click on the left door. The game is now starting, I first tried the 1 player mode and chow you the 2 players later on. The referee gives you some more information about what you have to do You have to decide the right call of 16 actions. Each action represent 1 week, so the game will finish on week 16. So, 1st question... a video starts on Full Motion with a duration of a few seconds, it is a action replay and after that you will see 4 possible answers. To answer, look at the arrows near each possibilities. Keep pressing the directional pad of your choice and then press button 1 or 2 (the game only use 1 button). You have 20 seconds to answer, if you don't give an answer, no points. After listen the referee (Pat Summerall) giving the right answer and explain why, if you still have some doubt, just click on rulling to read a short explanation from the NFL Rule Book. You also can watch again the action play by clicking on video. On 2 player mode, the game is rolling the same but with one exception... Both players have 20 seconds to answer, but instead of the answer being highlighted like on 1 player mode, now no answers will be known, this way both players can answer secretly. Only when the referee give the right answer, you will know who choose what. At the end of the 16 weeks (questions) you will get this following screen. You have to give a minimum of 65% of good answers to be able to go to the next referee level. I will never go further because I definitely don't know the NFL rules... But if you finish with the minimum of 65%, then you you be called to be the referee of other leagues and if you are really got on this, then, be the referee of the Super Bowl match! When you know the right answer, the referee placed on the left top, near your points will be animated, and depending of the right or wrong answer, he will do this: A right answer will gives you points, the same points as the seconds still remaining, so a fast good answer can gives you from 1 to 20 points, depending of your speed. At the end of the 16 questions, ONLY the minimum of 65% matter, not the points. When exiting the game, you will see the game's credits. CONCLUSION: I am really amazed by this game, especially by the way they design it, the way it works. I am still not a NFL fan, but I now know more rules of it. My God, if CapDisc had done the same game but for soccer... the game had been a best-seller in Europe! This game is not a Must Have, but you definitely have to play it because it deserves! Other information: – 2 players (Head-to-Head). – Digital Video Cartridge required. – Gamepad recommended. CD-i Emulator Compatibility: Not tested yet. Good Points: – 2 players. – Fantastic for NFL lovers! – Full Motion Action Replays. Bad Points: – Some old videos actions from the 80's are in pretty bad quality. – If you aren't familiar with the NFL, you will be lost.

EVALUATION: Graphics 9/10 Music 8/10 Gameplay 10/10 TOTAL 9/10

Find all the Chronicles at www.theworldofcdi.com Contact: omegalfa@theworldofcdi.com Twitter: @omegalfapt Facebook: Support Group Written by omegalfa, © 16/10/2020

Chronicle #29 - Mind Quest - Review

omegalfa — Fri, 02 Oct 2020 13:32:52 +0000

The World of CD-i Chronicles #29 Mind Quest Review There is many unpublished or unreleased CD-i titles. I am going to review another one for you and this time I choose Mind Quest. This one never passed Testing Phase 1. Unlike my last unpublished title What's it Worth?, this one isn't available for free download. SOME HISTORY: This game never passed the Testing Phase 1 and the latest known disc is version 1.02 from 24th January 1994. But we assume the official date as 1993 because in the credits of the title, it is 1993. Catalogue number 811 023(England) was already given to this title, but unfortunately, for some reason, it didn't reach the release status. SOME FACTS: Created by Fit Vision, George Scott was the producer of this amazing title! The team is almost the same as the one who created Great British Golf and Nature Under Threat. We still do not know why it as been cancelled, but in the USA CD-i Magazine issue 2, it was reviewed and announced for very soon at that time. THE GAME: This game can be compared to a puzzle book that you was able to find back in the 90's, but all compiled into a CD-i game! You are entering into a flying pyramid somewhere between time and space. This pyramid is made by 15 other smalls pyramids and each pyramid have many mind puzzles to solve... In the middle of the pyramid is the Main Room, and this is where you start. By clicking in the bottom left icon you will reach the help menu. And you can always return to the Main Room by clicking on the Paper Plane. Once again on the Main Room, if you click on the upper right icon, you will access the Game's Options, there you can set the difficulty level (from 1 to 3) for each kind of puzzles: Visual puzzles, Mathematics puzzles and Words puzzles. You are also able to reset the crossed words puzzles and sliding pictures (I will talk about them later). On the floor you can see white arrows. Using the cursor you will be able to turn around and make a 360º turn. Each time you click on a arrow it will turn 1/6 of the room, so you will be able to see 6 sides. You can see doors at each side and 2 painting around each door. If you click on a painting you will play a picture game or a crossword game. The picture one is a sliding cube. The objective is to complete the picture. The crosswords is completely different from what you use to play on your newspaper... Placing the cursor on the line you want to solve, you will find a wrote tip... or listen to a sound tip... or watching an animated tip... What a brilliant idea! If you click on a door, you will get access to 3 kind of rooms with mathematical, Visual and Words puzzles. 3 kind of rooms known as the Museum Room, the Islamic Room and the Classical Room. During the game you will be assisted by 3 characters: Mona - Visual puzzles. Trip - Mathematics puzzles Will - Words puzzles Accessing a door, you will see one of those pictures... Each little triangle you are seeing are puzzles to solve. If you see a set of 8 puzzles, then you have to solve 2 of them to go to the next level. If you only see 4, you just need to solve 1. You can leave a puzzle at anytime and come back later to try again the previous, but... After a while, 2 of them will randomly removed from the set... Each puzzle have a remaining countdown clock... See some of the available puzzles: Your progress and time you spend in solving them will always be under watch of Trip. Of course, at the end you can add your name on the High Scores page. Finally, when exiting the game, you will see the credits of the game. In conclusion, this game, if published, would be one of the best and most complete puzzle game of the 90's. a very advanced mind blowing game! Just look the way they made the crosswords game... way ahead others... I must congratulate the guys behind this amazing title! But at the same time, I must confess the navigation and understanding of the game is a little bit confusing the first time you play it. Alan_CDiZone, our titles information responsible also tried this game and talked with me about his experience:

The last time I played it, just a few weeks ago, I did my best ever reaching level 10. It is so hard because it's also against the clock. So by the time I reached this level, I was pretty much out of time! It's packed full of little mini games, you can do sliding picture puzzles and crosswords, and also changed the level of difficulty (1 - 3). If you do really well on the main game, you get some good feedback from the 3 characters ''an absolutely splendorous performance''). A great game for the puzzle fan in particular.

Other information: – 1 player. – No Digital Video Cartridge required. – Gamepad recommended. CD-i Emulator Compatibility: Not tested Good Points: – Perfect for puzzles lovers. – Many many many puzzles. – A lot of audio and good music... Bad Points: – A little bit confusing at first... – Not published...

EVALUATION: Graphics 8/10 Music 7/10 Gameplay 10/10 TOTAL 8/10

Find all the Chronicles at www.theworldofcdi.com Contact: omegalfa@theworldofcdi.com Twitter: @omegalfapt Facebook: Support Group Written by omegalfa, © 02/10/2020

Chronicle #28 - What's it Worth? - Review

omegalfa — Sat, 19 Sep 2020 12:57:17 +0000

The World of CD-i Chronicles #28 There is many unpublished or unreleased CD-i titles. I am going to review one for you and I choose What's it Worth? This one never passed Testing Phase 2 and it is available for download at Hidden Palace. You will need to burn it in a CD-R to play it on your CD-i player, or just unzip the file to play it on CD-i emulator. Use our CD-i Backup guide to learn how to burn the game! SOME HISTORY: This game never passed the Testing Phase 2 and the latest known disc is version 1.03 from 30th May 1994. Catalogue number 811 004 was already given to this title, but unfortunately, for some reason, it didn't reach the release status. SOME FACTS: Marshall Cavendish Multimedia was an English company related with art and museums, that is why they decided to make a game that will show pieces of art. What's it worth? is the only game they tried to make and they choose the CD-i due to the pictures quality and promote art in the family. THE GAME: This game, as a Testing Phase 2 disc is not fully finished. It is 100% working but this Testing Phase was to verify the good working of what was already done. To be finished, a Testing Phase 3 was needed before a published disc. I didn't find an official cover for this title, so I am using the game's intro as cover. By the way. you will see many large pictures as the screen (of the playing game) scrolls from left to right. I have edited the pictures to get a complete vision of the artwork. The game starts with a lady talking to you, explaining how to play the game, a background music will be always playing until she finish the tutorial. So what kind of game is it...? What's it Worth? is an auction game, you are a collector and will compete against other collectors to get the most precious items at the best prices, complete collections from pieces that might be in possession of others to increase its value. To start the game, you will have to choose your character. This game was intended to be played to up to 6 players alternatively, but I will try it for 1 player only. I choose Hisashi... let's see if he will buy something else than rock guitars ;) Then we have to define how many rounds (items) we will bid to win them and the other option is if we want or not instructions during the game. Before the game starts all the players will be on a VIP airport lounge, many countries all other the world may appears. It starts at Round 1. For this auction place you will read an article on the newspaper about the items that might be there and the buyers. The first place you are going will happen at the Lion Hotel, after seeing some locals photographs you will get the list of the pieces of art that will be available for bid. The game will and you are now in the auction room. The first item is shown. In this case we are talking about a collection of 6 cars, but you will bid only on the colored one... the others will be bid separately... You can choose to bid or skip this one if you are not interested. Press button 1 to bid and your character will rise his red plate. Depending of the item value, the bid can go from 50$ to 500$ each bid. All players starts will the same amount. Many items will appear along the game, depending on how many you choose before beginning. Be careful, if you spend all your money, you will not be able to bid more... After the the auction, you will reach the hotel's lounge. There you will be able to see your classification and of your opponents. You will also be able to sell what you don't need anymore, if you can't get a complete collection for example or if you need money. Choose items you own... ... and then sell it for the best price! Auctions will then continue until the last item! At the end, the players will show scores one by one and the game will end with the credits. In conclusion, this was a promising title! Auction game wasn't and still aren't usual to see nowadays. We still need to understand the reason why of this cancellation... In family or with friends this game, after finished, would be a cool title to have in your collection! Other information: – 6 players (alternatively). – No Digital Video Cartridge required. – Gamepad recommended. CD-i Emulator Compatibility: Not tested Good Points: – 6 players. – Many pieces of art available. – The ambiance in the auction room... Bad Points: – Not published for a truly test

EVALUATION: Graphics 7/10 Music 6/10 Gameplay 8/10 TOTAL 7/10

Find all the Chronicles at www.theworldofcdi.com Contact: omegalfa@theworldofcdi.com Twitter: @omegalfapt Facebook: Support Group Written by omegalfa, © 18/09/2020

Chronicle #27 - Master Labyrinth

omegalfa — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 18:38:54 +0000

The World of CD-i Chronicles #27 Have you ever wanted to be inside a labyrinth trying to find your way out? Lost for hours? It is now possible with this CD-i version! And if you could play it in family or with friends... drinking a beer...? SOME HISTORY: Published by and produced by AVM AG/HQ GmbH in 1994, this labyrinth with the walls always in movement is an idea of Ravensburger, the king of board games. No problem if you can't remember the board game, you will know how to play it after reading this review. SOME FACTS: Ravensburger did convert another board game for CD-i, Scotland Yard. There is no doubt the CD-i is the perfect platform to convert a board game into a digital and interactive game! THE GAME: This game is a pure labyrinth game style. It starts with the new Philips Media animation and the Interactive Entertainment Found. A 3D video present the game showing an old manor... accompanied by a sinister music and noises from the forest... a good way to put you in the ambiance of what is coming for you... As I am reviewing the European version, once the video finished, you will have to choose the language between: German, Dutch, English and French. Once chosen, an animation will brings you to Main Menu, the place that you can choose the number of players, between 1 to 4 (alternatively). In the options, you can choose the number of magic objects that will have to find. They can be 7, 13 or 21. You also can play with or without the 3D labyrinth (we will talk about this later). After setting the options and the number of players, you are going the the basement of the manor... the underground labyrinth... WITHOUT 3D LABYRINTH GAMEPLAY: I choose 4 players and 21 magical objects. The 1st game a am playing is without 3D labyrinth, this way it is easy to understand the way you play the game. 4 player represented by 4 icons that are: Red star, Green cross, Yellow heart and Blue triangle. Each player have to reach a Magical Object (treasure) numbered 1, 2 and 3 to win points (the brown boxes). Treasure 1 is the one with less points and treasure 3 the one with more points. But the points aren't linear as the quicker you reach them, more points you will get. But before you can reach them, you need to add a wall piece into the labyrinth. Doing this you will change the line you are going to insert it. You can rotate the new piece to be more appropriate to your next move. Once you have added it, you can move your player. Even if more than 1 treasure is on your way, your turn pass after taking the first, so be clever and think well before taking it... choose the one with more points! By moving the walls, you are also destroying or helping your opponent next move! Be sure you are fast, the clock will limit you and if you are not fast enough, your turn will pass... If you play the game alone (1 player) the game rules are the same, but you are the only one playing (the opponents are just present but not playing). After getting all the Magical Objects, the player with more points are the winner and you will write your name one the Guestbook of the mansion. WITH 3D LABYRINTH GAMEPLAY: Now playing the 3D labyrinth gives more interactivity to the game. It starts the same way, you need to add a piece before playing, but after that, you will walk in the labyrinth. You will always start facing North, just like the board game. Use the arrows to go forward, turn left or right. You will meet entities and you will have to choose if they are friends or phantoms... to decide who it is, just click the left or the right icon. If you are wrong and give a hand-check to a phantom, you will lose your points... if you get the right answer, you will follow your way. If you find a treasure, you also will decide if it is a real one or a magical one... if you are right and decide that it is a magical one, then you can double or triplicate your points! If it is not a magical one but decided it is... you will lose the treasure. After you finish the game, an animation with the player will appear in a party in the mansion. To conclude, this is a very good game to play with friends or even alone. I do prefer playing without the 3D labyrinth, it is faster. The 3D labyrinth is a little bit confusion to find your way, even if you can always check your position on the boar. When exiting the game, you will see the pictures of the people who worked on the game. I recommend you to play this game, it deserve it and with friends you will get a fun time! Other information: – 4 players (alternatively). – No Digital Video Cartridge required. – Gamepad recommended. CD-i Emulator Compatibility: Working – No Issues Good Points: – 4 players. – Fun moment with friends. – The ambiance with the sound... Bad Points: – 3D labyrinth a little bit confusiong.

EVALUATION: Graphics 8/10 Music 8/10 Gameplay 8/10 TOTAL 8/10

Find all the Chronicles at www.theworldofcdi.com Contact: omegalfa@theworldofcdi.com Twitter: @omegalfapt Facebook: Support Group Written by omegalfa, © 11/09/2020

Chronicle # 26 - Labyrinth of Crete - Review

omegalfa — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 17:03:51 +0000

The World of CD-i Chronicles #26 Do you like puzzle and enigma games? Yes? So Labyrinth of Crete is your game! This is a very good game with great great graphics and sound! A "Must Have" in your collection! SOME HISTORY: Released in 1997 by the famous FunHouse and published by Philips Media, this title was directed by the award-winning game-designer Cliff Johnson. It has also been release on the USA but only for PC/CDROM. SOME FACTS: FunHouse was a division of Philips Media, they released many titles, in my opinion, all with very good quality, such as Merlin's Apprentice, Surf City and Cartoon Carnival. THE GAME: The game starts with an animation right from the Philips Media logo, typical from FunHouse. The animation keeps going until the main menu screen. Pressing "play", you will choose your character between 12 icons, this part is for the a new game, saved game or solved game. You will then choose the difficulty level for the following 5 kind of puzzles: Words, Shapes, Action, Memory and Logic. Difficulties levels are: Beginner (green), Advanced blue), Expert (red). After you have set the difficulty, another animation will begin to introduce you into the story and you will start the game from the room of the Moon, with access to the Temples of the Gods. From the left to the right you will see: Poseidon, Ares, Hephaestus, Hermes and Hades. The Minotaur at the leftmost side is the exit. There is also the room of the Sun, this time it will gives you access to the Temples of the Goddesses. They are from the left to the right: Athena, Aphrodite, Artemis, Demeter and Eos. To reach this room, you first need to solve all the Temples from the room of the Moon. Each temple will lead to different puzzles games. Patchwork Challenge: Block Challenge: Maze Challenge: Tracer Challenge: After clearing 4 levels of each God, an animation will show you the zodiac symbol that you have unlocked. You will return to the room of the Moon and will see the closed door of the Temple you completed. Do the same with all the Gods and Goddesses to finally get all the zodiac symbols. After that you will get access to the Minotaur's Lair Challenge and reach the exit! This game have more challenges to put your brain in dust and I must recommend you to get it to your collection! Other information: – 1 player only. – Digital Video Cartridge required. – Gamepad recommended. CD-i Emulator Compatibility: Working – No Issues Good Points: – Very good animations. – 47 puzzles to solve. – Very good quality. Bad Points: – No 2 players.

EVALUATION: Graphics 10/10 Music 9/10 Gameplay 9/10 TOTAL 9/10

Find all the Chronicles at www.theworldofcdi.com Contact: omegalfa@theworldofcdi.com Twitter: @omegalfapt Facebook: Support Group Written by omegalfa, © 04/09/2020

Chronicle #25 - UEFA champions League

omegalfa — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 17:12:28 +0000

The World of CD-i Chronicles #25 As many of you knows, I received a Portuguese version of UEFA® Champions League 95/96 title and I am now reviewing it. This is a very interesting title, full of information about players, teams and and history... Known as soccer from overseas, you will all enjoy it, definitely. Back in this year, the teams that was competing in this league was only the winners of each country. SOME HISTORY: This title released by HyperVision back in 1995 has as interesting fact, some matches between teams had already been played when published, so you will find some results between teams inserted by the developer. We will see this later on this review. SOME FACTS: The UEFA® Champions League is the football (soccer) competition that all players and teams want to win, you can compare the UEFA® Champions League Final Match to the American Football Super Bowl Match to understand the importance of it. THE TITLE: The mouse is a black star taken from the logo the competition who turns red when placed on a link. Button 1 and 2 will do the same action. This title is divided 4 categories and other subcategories: - Match schedule - History - Best players - Teams Choosing match schedule from the main menu will send you to a subcategory with more 4 options: - Competition - Search - Calendar - Teams Choosing competition, you will get to another screens with more options: - Group matches - 1/4 Final - 1/2 Final - Final As this is preview of the upcoming competition (back in 1995), some matches has already been played, other not. You will see some results on the screen, but the others... YOU WILL ADD THEM! Go to the internet, browse the matches back in 1995/1996 and add all the results yourself. Choosing group matches, you will get access to the 4 (A, B, C and D) groups results and classification. To add the result of a match, just click on the line of the match, you will be able to add the scores. The same happens for the rest of the competition. From the main menu, choose History to watch all the goals in video from all the finals, since 1956 to 1995. Back again to the main screen, choose Best Players and watch videos on Full Motion of each players listed. Get also information about them like all teams he represented, titles won, etc... And for the last one but not least, Teams. Here you will get all the information about each teams that are playing this UEFA® Champions League. This part is divided in 3 sections that are: - Video - Players - Team I found a bug on the title, when all the results are stored, you will get the teams that will be on the the 1/4 finals, 1/2 finals and final. But the Winner of group D and the 2nd of the same group does not appears on the list, staying only the reference of the position of the group. Look at the pictures: To exit the title, just click on the ball in the middle of the screen and will see the credits before exiting. For the Portuguese version, CITI, the same company that release Abrunhosa & Bandemónios and others, to convert to our (my) beautiful language. Portuguese: Fernando Correira Italian: Bruno Longhi French: English: This is a very good title to have in your collection, sadly this idea didn't followed for other seasons like for the PC/CROM. This is what we can call as a multimedia library for this competition, like our today internet data, but all inside one CD. The best choice if you want to be the master of European Football knowledge! Other information: – Digital Video Cartridge required. – Remote can be used. CD-i Emulator Compatibility: Not tested Good Points: – Interactive as you insert the results. – A lot of information! – A lot of videos! Bad Points: – Bug on the group D.

EVALUATION: Graphics 10/10 Music 9/10 Creativity 9/10 TOTAL 9/10

Find all the Chronicles at www.theworldofcdi.com Contact: omegalfa@theworldofcdi.com Twitter: @omegalfapt Facebook: Support Group Written by omegalfa, © 28/08/2020

Chronicle #24 - Abrunhosa & Bandemónio

omegalfa — Fri, 17 Jul 2020 04:30:39 +0000

The World of CD-i Chronicles #24 Here is the 1st review of a Digital Video on CD-i title, that means you will need the Digital Video Cartridge to play this title. As I am Portuguese, I had to start with a Portuguese CD-i release of course, a Portuguese exclusive title. I am not a fan of his music as I do not like his way to sing (just like if he talk instead of singing...). Thank you Alan Bradford for offering me this title. Alan was the owner of Philips CD-i Zone Facebook page, now used by someone else without asking for permission to use it... SOME HISTORY: Abrunhosa & Bandemónio developed by C.I.T.I. in 1995, the very first Portuguese Multimeda dedicated to music and video for CD-i. Today he is doing a solo career. The Bandemónio ended in 2010. C.I.T.I. with a good experience on CD-i titles has been chosen to release this title that provide a very good amount of multimedia resource and options! SOME FACTS: Pedro Abrunhosa is a very famous singer in Portugal and this CD-i title is based on his first album who got a triple platinium (240 000 sold) and got the special participation of Maceo Parker, James Brown's saxophonist. THE TITLE: This title is divided in several parts. Every time you will choose a category and/or subcategory, you will see a little video of Pedro Abrunhosa talking to you to show you what you are going to see. Choosing the 1st icon from the main menu, you will gt to the subcategory with 3 options. Choosing the 1st icon, you will be able to cut 3 songs and play any or all parts of the same song randomly. Fantasia, Socorro and Estrada. Choosing the 2nd icon, you will sing karaoke of one of the 2 songs. Não Posso Mais and Tudo o Que Eu te Dou. Choosing the 3rd icon, Pedro Abrunhosa will answer many questions from the fans. Choosing the 2nd icon from the main menu, you will get to another subcategory with 3 more options. Choosing the 1st icon, you will learn who are the Bandemónio and the history of the band. Choosing the 2nd icon, you will listen to the full audio album. 10 songs that are: - Não Posso Mais. - Não Tenho Mão Em Mim. - Lua. - É Preciso Ter Calma. - Socorro. - Estrada. - Fantasia. - Viagens. - Mais Perto Do Céu. - Tudo O Que Eu Te Dou. Choosing the 3rd icon, you will watch a video with scenes of several concerts. Choosing the 3rd icon from the main menu, you will get to another subcategory with 3 more options. Here, you will watch 3 video-clips of his hit songs: - Não Posso Mais. - Tudo O Que Eu Te Dou. - Socorro. Other information: – Not compatible with a Video-CD or DVD player. – Digital Video Cartridge required. – Remote can be used. CD-i Emulator Compatibility: Not tested Good Points: – Very interactive! – Many menus and subcategories. – Very good audio quality. Bad Points: – Only for the people who like this kind of music.

EVALUATION: Graphics 8/10 Music 10/10 Creativity 9/10 TOTAL 9/10

Find all the Chronicles at www.theworldofcdi.com Contact: omegalfa@theworldofcdi.com Twitter: @omegalfapt Facebook: Support Group Written by omegalfa, © 17/07/2020

Chronicle #23 - CD-i Remote Oty07

omegalfa — Sun, 12 Jul 2020 03:56:59 +0000

The World of CD-i Chronicles #23 This is a totally different chronicle as we are going to see this unique CD-i remote. Created by the German company Strolo Datentechnik GmbH back in 1996, this wireless CD-i remote is for sure absolutely rare. Thanks to RetroMan who sent some pictures of it, we can now watch closely some details. We are talking about the CD-i remote Oty07 (OTY 07). Strolo Datentechnik GmbH changed his name in 1999 to Oty. Today it is part of Getinge Group, dedicated to health technology and are working on a solution for the Covid-19. This specific CD-i wireless remote is part of a CD-i Point of Information system for resellers or commercial centers and wasn't available for consumers. It was included with a monitor and a wireless DIN keyboard with 128 keys called Oty09. The Oty07 (the remote we are reviewing) is also a DIN remote and fully compatible with any CD-i player. What is a DIN remote or keyboard? This is a panel with protruding buttons. Look at the following picture: This kind of buttons (DIN) have an extremely low energy consumption, but with the use, can start to brake the cover and finish to stop working in good conditions. This is not a sensitive button or tap with your hand sensor like. You really need to hit each buttons to work and listen to a "clic". The Oty07 was the "mouse" of the Point of Information system. Take a look at the back side of the controller: Strolo Datentechnik GmbH was based at Detmold, Germany and is now closed. They developed many systems based on wireless technology like webcams, keyboards, mouses and LED panel lightening like this one: I hope you enjoyed discovering this curious CD-i remote just like I loved to make the researches to find more about it! If like RetroMan you also own an Oty07 or even an Oty09, please let me know, I will enjoy share it with our community! See you in the next Chronicle! Find all the Chronicles at www.theworldofcdi.com Contact: omegalfa@theworldofcdi.com Twitter: @omegalfapt Facebook: Support Group Written by omegalfa, © 10/07/2020